An electronic device may provide a user with a communication function or a data input/output function executed with an external device by processing a large amount of data in various manners using, for example, a plurality of processors. The processors may include a first processor (for example, a communication processor (CP)) for transmitting and receiving data to and from an external device, for example, by wireless or wired communication, and a second processor (for example, an application processor (AP)) for processing the data in a form suitable for an input or output device operatively connected to the electronic device.
Conventionally, if an electronic device having a plurality of processors including a first processor (for example, a CP) and a second processor (for example, an AP) receives data from an external device using the first processor (for example, a CP), it unconditionally transmits the received data to the second processor (for example, an AP) without determining whether the second processor (for example, an AP) is in a sleep state, in order to process the received data suitably for an output device. For example, even though the received data is of low importance or includes user-unintended data, the electronic device switches the second processor (for example, an AP) from the sleep state to an active state and processes the received data using the second processor (for example, an AP), to immediately provide the received data to a user.
In some cases, when the electronic device acquires (for example, receives) data transmitted by an external device, the (acquired) data may be provided to the user through another external device, not through the electronic device. Even in this case, the conventional electronic device switches the second processor (for example, an AP) from the sleep state to the active state using the first processor (for example, a CP) that has received the data transmitted by the external device, and then transmits the data to another external device using the (active) second processor. For example, the electronic device transmits data in the order of the first processor, the second processor, and the external device.
Since the conventional electronic device switches the second processor to the active state unconditionally in response to data reception with no regard to the property of the data or the state of the second processor, the use of the second processor unnecessarily increases current consumption. Moreover, if the received data has a relatively low priority level, the user may want to check the data sometime after reception of the data according to the state of the electronic device (for example, a residual battery capacity, a used memory capacity, or the temperature of the electronic device). Nonetheless, each time the electronic device receives data, the electronic device switches the second processor from the sleep state to the active state and thus immediately provides the received data to the user. As a consequence, user-unintended data may often be provided to the user, thus causing user inconvenience.
The above information is provided as background information only to assist with an understanding of the present disclosure. No determination has been made, and no assertion is made, as to whether any of the above might be applicable as prior art with regard to the present disclosure.